One Day Closer
by Midn1ghtWhisp3r
Summary: Raguna has a secret, Nobody really seems to care, and the person who does hasn't got a clue,  But can she figure it out?


One Day Closer.

Disclaimer: I don't own rune factory, Well except for the game's I do actually own that I bought...  
>But I don't own the copyrights or anything.<p>

Raguna sat on the floor beside his bed,  
>Head against the wall, Lights out, staring out the window across the room.<br>It was long past midnight, the moonlight would be fading away soon.  
>Little pieces of plastic paper were scattered around on the floor around him,<br>Raguna had promised himself he would stay awake for this night.  
>It was no challenge, it really didn't take much effort at all.<br>A few cups of coffee helped too, but he was really running on emotion.  
>He was alone tonight, He had called mist hoping maybe she could make him feel better.<br>"Hey, Listen I can't really talk okay? Rosetta invited me over to her place for tea" She answered,  
>"Oh...Okay, well um have fun okay?" Raguna replied deciding to spend the night alone.<br>"Okay, I'll tell you how it went if I get back in time tomorrow, I'm staying the night"  
>Raguna hung up feeling dissapointed, "Guess she forgot..." He said to himself.<br>Truthfully it hurt, Mist was really the closest friend he had.  
>But Raguna was used to it, He'd been alone most of his life anyway.<br>Later that evening Erik had dropped by,  
>"Hey, listen um...I noticed you weren't around town today" He said scratching his neck nervously.<br>"Didn't feel like it...Tomorrows not a good day either, I'm not gonna be there then either."  
>"Well...I know what tomorrow is okay? DOn't worry about it alright? It's just a day closer to him"<br>Raguna felt a bittersweet emotion when he heard that,  
>He didn't know if he had said it once before himself, Or if Erik had just attempted to say what he wanted to hear.<br>All he knew is Erik seemed to want to hurry.  
>"Erik, why are you here? you never cared about coming to see me before now did you?" Raguna asked,<br>"Oh! Well, Y'know, I been hanging out with Mist and she said she was worried about you today"  
>Raguna didn't want to hear Mist's name right now, She'd already shown someone else mattered more.<br>And the day didn't mean anything to her anyway, so he doubted she was really concerned.  
>"I see...Well that was nice of her, She's a sweet girl" Raguna replied looking away.<br>"Yeah, Well Listen, if you need me just call me. I'm here for you man. later" Erik said leaving.  
>"Hey, Erik?" Raguna said stopping him,<br>"Yeah? what's up?" Erik said doing a 180 in his path.  
>"...Tell Mist thanks for caring so much about me alright?" Raguna replied eithout emotion.<br>"Uh...Sure, Will do" Erik said turning again and walking out the door.  
>Raguna waited for the door to close before he swore at his name.<br>At this point Raguna felt completely alone.  
>He wanted to believe he was just being paranoid, but nobody was here for him were they?<br>Raguna went over to his bed and let himself fall on it.  
>But as an hour went by, he finally accepted he wasn't falling asleep.<br>He decided to find a way to occupy the time.  
>After a few glances around the room he noticed the stained paint cans,<br>He hadn't finished painting his new colors on the walls, Maybe that would help?

After a few hours Raguna noticed he was soaked to the skin in paint.  
>"Darn" He said looking in a mirror, "I guess I better take a trip to the bath house"<br>Raguna grabbed a change of clothes and walked out the door,  
>The bath house Melody ran was just up the road from his house.<br>Raguna went there every day, it was cheaper than running his own baths.  
>And certainly felt a lot better.<br>As Raguna walked into the front doors Melody was sitting with her feet up on the desk,  
>Head buried in a magazene Raguna didn't care for.<br>As she turned the page she looked up and noticed Raguna walking in,  
>"Yuck...your father never teach you how to paint?" She said laughing.<br>Raguna didn't say a word, just took out his wallet and put the money on the counter,  
>"What? your not laughing? it's a joke, you know, Haha?" Melody said.<br>"Can I take a bath or not?" Raguna said cutting her off,  
>"Geez, who ticked you off?" Melody took the money and opened the register, As she gave Raguna back his change she noticed he was already walking into the room.<br>"HEY! You left your change?" Melody yelled,  
>"Keep it, I don't really care" Raguna replied.<br>Melody rolled her eyes and went back to her magazene.

About fifteen minutes later Raguna walked out of the bath adjusting his necklace,  
>As he secured the strap on his treasured watch, He looked up and noticed Iris walking out of the girls room.<br>She thanked Melody and then turned around to see him walking out the door,  
>She followed and stopped him outside,<br>"HEY! Raguna! What you can't say hello?" She said smiling in his direction,  
>"Oh, I'm sorry Iris, I figured you were busy" he replied not looking back,<br>"What? That's stupid. You know I'm always happy to see you" She said walking up and hugging him,  
>"Ha...Yeah I know, I just didn't think you'd wanna hang out today"<br>Iris let go and looked at him weirdly, "Are you okay? You know you're the only person I care about in this entire town. So why wouldn't I want to hang out with you?" She said finally.  
>"I don't know...I figured maybe you were going to hang out with Mist or someone"<br>"You're my best friend. You know that, something's wrong, tell me what." Iris said.  
>"Nothing, I'll talk to you later okay? Have a nice evening" Raguna said walking away.<br>"What's wrong Raguna..." Iris whispered to herself,  
>"I know, So have you seen my new pet? I named him Crackers" Iris heard a voice nearby,<br>She turned to see Mist walking by with Rosetta,  
>"Hey Mist" She said trying to stop her, "Have you talked to Raguna today?" She asked.<br>"Raguna? OH! Yeah, He's depressed I'm sure" She said continuing her walk,  
>"WAIT! Why is he depressed?" Iris asked,<br>"Well he'll be more depressed tomorrow, considering what day it is. It's best if you just leave him alone. He'll be fine" Rosetta said "Yeah, He's like that, don't worry about it" Mist said as she started walking again.  
>"What's tomorrow?" Iris said, getting no response as the two ignored her.<br>"Nevermind..." Iris said as she turned and walked away.

As Raguna continued to stare out the window, remembering what had happened the day before,  
>He heard something break in the kitchen,<br>With a Sigh Raguna stood up and walked in.  
>His cat had knocked over a glass he had left on the table,<br>"You just can't stay out of trouble can you?" He asked as it scurried away.  
>Raguna cleaned up the mess, still thinking of how he was alone.<br>For some reason the thought kept penetrating his mind like a light in the darkness.  
>Raguna threw away the shattered pieces and sat at the table.<br>He reached over and grabbed another glass from the cabinet and poured another cup of coffee,  
>As he set it on the table in front of himself he noticed the sun starting to rise.<br>"Right about now..." He said as he took a sip.  
>He laughed a short time, "I wonder if anyone would care if I left tonight?<br>Turned around, and just never came back. Or maybe if I died tonight?"  
>Tears started to come but Raguna tried to hold them back.<br>Maybe everyone was right, Maybe he just needed to forget it already and move on.  
>But how do you just throw someone who means so much to you away like that?<p>

Raguna suddenly woke up to the sound of knocking on his door,  
>He glanced at his watch, "2:13" the hands read,<br>"When did I fall asleep?" He said noticing the coffee he was drinking still beside his head.  
>He stood up and poured it down the sink,<br>The person knocked on the door again,  
>"Who is it?" He said to himself as he straightened his hair and wiped sleep from his eyes.<br>Raguna walked over to the door and peeked out the window,  
>Iris was standing there looking at the ground.<br>Raguna opened the door and greeted her,  
>"Hey, what are you doing here?"<br>"Oh! Good afternoon, I was just dropping by to see if you were okay.  
>You seemed a little upset last night..." She said hugging him,<br>"Don't worry about me...It's just another day" He replied.  
>"Well guess what? That's what best friends are for. So can I come in?"<br>Raguna was hesitant to let her, but he finally decided it was okay.  
>As soon as she walked in Iris noticed the pictures lying next to Raguna's bed,<br>She gave him his privacy and didn't look anymore, after all it was his pictures not hers.  
>"So...Is today anything special?" Iris asked finally.<br>"Today? ...Why do you ask?" Raguna said with a little shock,  
>"No reason...Just wondering."<br>"Well, yeah kind of, but it's nothing you should worry about"  
>"You know I'm here to listen..." Iris said as she reached into her pocket,<br>"Here" She said handing him a silvery blue rose. "I grew this for you" She smiled.  
>"What is this? You didn't need to get me anything" Raguna said.<br>"Friends give friends presents" Iris said still smiling, "Do you like it?" She asked.  
>"Well...Yes, Thank you. It's very sweet of you" Raguna said placing it on the stand beside his bed.<br>Raguna looked down and noticed the pictures he had forgotten to hide,  
>He reached down to pick them up, Iris pretended not to notice.<br>"I'm sorry my house is a mess, I haven't...really felt like cleaning" He said.  
>The smell of paint caught Iris's attention,<br>"So...What have you been doing?" She asked trying to see if he would open up.  
>"Well, I painted some, other than that...Nothing important"<br>Iris couldn't wait anymore, she wanted to know the truth,  
>"I...Noticed the pictures. Is everything okay?" She said.<br>Raguna sighed, "I'd hoped you wouldn't...Todays a hard day for me"  
>"What's wrong?" Iris asked sitting on his bed,<br>"Well...Today, one year ago, is the hardest day of my life" Raguna said sitting beside her,  
>"What happened?" Iris said with worry, wondering if she really should have asked.<br>"Well...Today a year ago, is when...my father died" Raguna said trying not to cry,  
>"Oh my goodness...I didn't know Raguna, I'm so sorry" She said hugging him,<br>"It's okay...I guess I should be over it by now huh?" He said sighing again,  
>"What? No. Of course not, I couldn't imagine how hard it must be.<br>Your so young, I can't believe he's gone..." Iris said crying a little herself,  
>"Why haven't you ever told me?" Iris asked,<br>"I didn't think anyone cared..."  
>Iris felt hurt at that, She gave him a serious look.<br>"Raguna, I am your best friend. Don't you ever think you need to hide anything from me.  
>I will always care, and if something hurts you, it hurts me too...Don't you know that?<br>I love you, and I always will be here for you. Don't you know that by now?" She said.  
>"I know...I just...It's hard to understand some things" Raguna said unable to hide tears.<br>"I know it is, and thats why it's so hard to face alone...I'm here for you okay?  
>And if it's okay with you I'm not leaving tonight, I'll stay here with you. I don't want you to be alone" Iris said smiling for him,<br>"You don't have to do that" Raguna replied.  
>"Well I want to...So can I?"<br>"...Okay" Raguna said, for once, he had a friend who was there for him.  
>"Good, now why don't you tell me a little about your dad?" Iris asked,<br>"And I hope you remember, today may be hard, but it's a day closer to seeing him again, right?"  
>Iris smiled, and Raguna began to tell her about his father,<br>For the first time in his life, Raguna didn't feel alone.  
>Maybe he had found a real friend?<p>

~5106 In memory of My father, I love you Dad, and I hope you know I will always miss you.  
>PS: Thanks, for someone who cares. <p>


End file.
